Huskies win regular season finale over Ducks
CALEB PEREZ | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 3 months, 1 week AGO
Huskies players cheer from the sideline following their road victory over the University of Oregon. UW prepares for their first game of the postseason Thursday morning.
COURTESY PHOTO/UW ATHLETICS
EUGENE, Ore. — The University of Washington Huskies (20-9) capped off regular season play with a 70-69 road victory over the University of Oregon Ducks (20-11). With this victory under their belts, the Huskies march into postseason play.
UW earned an early lead due in part from the efforts of Sayvia Sellers from the Huskies who came out of the first half shooting 6-for-6 from the floor and knocking down four three-pointers. The Ducks on the other hand started slow, shooting 28.6% and turning the ball over four times in the first quarter.
Things started to swing in Oregon’s favor by the second quarter as they shot 7-of-14, but Washington responded accordingly to every push to maintain their lead. By the end of the half, the Huskies led 36-27.
The Huskies scored twice to open the second half to take their biggest lead of the game 40-27, but then Katie Fiso from the Ducks started to take over scoring 13 points on 6-of-6 shooting in the third quarter. While UW was still in the lead, Oregon had cut deep into their lead multiple times before the end of the third quarter.
Oregon gained the lead for the first time in the game at 69-67 with 21 seconds left. The Huskies tied the game in the following drive and were saved in the final seconds of the game when Fiso fouled Devin Coppinger who sunk a clutch free throw to pick up the one-point victory.
Sellers was the top scorer of the afternoon with 29 points and led with five assists. Elle Ladine was the second Husky in double-digit figures, scoring 11 points, five rebounds and two assists. Seven Huskies recorded at least one bucket scored and Coppinger matched her season-high with nine points.
The Huskies were effective in shooting the ball finishing the night with 45.8% accuracy in the field and 33.3% from behind the three-point line. UW also forced 14 turnovers from the Ducks and seven steals as Huskies’ player Avery Howell led with three. Howell also led in rebounding with eight.
With Sunday’s victory, the Huskies earned their first 20-win season since 2016-17.
The Huskies traveled to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Tournament where they face USC Thursday at 9 a.m. where UW earned a 76-64 victory. Ladine was the top scorer for the Huskies Thursday morning shooting 25 points followed by Howell with 18 and Hannah Stines with 12.
The Ducks played Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Wednesday and earned an 82-64 victory. Fiso once again led Oregon in shooting with 20 points followed by Ehis Etute with 16 and Mia Jacobs with 14.
Washington is set to face UCLA Friday at noon for the Quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tourney.
BOX SCORES
March 1
UW: 15-21-17-17: 70
UO: 9-18-20-22: 69
March 4
PURD: 12-12-25-15: 64
UO: 21-26-17-18: 82
March 5
USC: 6-14-16-28: 64
UW: 8-24-24-20: 76
ARTICLES BY CALEB PEREZ
Erickson looks back on a busy and successful four-sport high school career
WARDEN — A four-sport athlete is not someone you often come across due to the time and dedication it takes for success in one sport, but for Amaya Erickson, tackling that challenge was something she was up for in her senior season. “My family’s always been really big into sports,” said Erickson. “Both my parents have played and my siblings both play, so I guess they’re all a really great inspiration for me.”
Tigers start summer 3-1 after split with Sunnyside Christian
EPHRATA — The Ephrata Tiger Baseball Club (3-1) finished their second matchup of the season as they split a doubleheader with Sunnyside Christian Tuesday evening. “I was pleased with a lot of aspects of the doubleheader,” said Tigers Head Coach David Tempel. “The summertime is all about development and getting some experience. The good part about (Tuesday) is we were in some different situations that we haven’t seen much, so we were able to learn from those and use those to our advantage.” Sunnyside was the first on the board during game one as they put up two runs in the top of the second inning. The Tigers responded at the bottom of the third as they put up five runs to claim the lead.
Fletcher named new Eagles volleyball head coach
SOAP LAKE — The Soap Lake Eagles volleyball team will be under new leadership this fall as Erin Fletcher has been selected as the new head coach. She is following the successful tenure of the previous head coach, Nikki Noble, who helped guide the team to multiple state appearances over the years. “I’m so excited,” said Fletcher. “I’ve had the opportunity to watch these girls play the last couple years as a (referee). I’m really excited to be able to step in after Coach Noble and continue on that winning and competitive spirit that they’ve had for so long and kind of take it now to the next level.” Her love for athletics came from growing up in an athletic family of basketball players, but in second grade, she became the first in her family to start playing volleyball. From there, a passion for volleyball began to grow.